Last year a draft regulation set off a round of debate over taxpayer-funded gender reassignment surgeries and hormone treatments for inmates in state custody.
Sen. Stephen West described the situation this way on Thursday: "The department had implemented a policy within our prison system... The state would pay for gender-affirming care and gender transition surgeries for inmates within the Department of Corrections. That had been a policy for some time. That was a policy that had been enacted through an internal memo."
In a January statement, Leah Boggs, general counsel for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, said no gender-affirming surgery "has happened, did happen, or will happen."
But Republicans said the memo had been repeatedly slow-walked, delaying lawmakers' efforts to get answers.
Now, a new bill that cleared the Senate would permit lawmakers to review regulations during the drafting process and compel appearances and cooperation from agency representatives. The administration would have a five-day notice before being called to testify on any draft regulations.
In addition, Bowling Green Republican Sen. Mike Wilson introduced a measure that would formally bar cross-sex hormone treatment for inmates.
"I filed Senate Bill 2, which actually prohibits them from using state funds to pay for those, specifically cross-gender hormones or transgender surgeries," he said.
Justice Cabinet legal counsel identified more than 450 inmates currently receiving some kind of hormone treatment. That number included those with a variety of medical conditions. Looking solely at inmates on hormone therapy for gender dysphoria, the number is currently 67, according to the cabinet.
Wilson said his bill would not affect the inmates obtaining hormone treatment for conditions outside of gender dysphoria.
